Caught Between Casual and Formal? Cafe or a Meeting Room Interview?

Nowadays, recruiters, life coaches, and other consultants and entrepreneurs tend to have business meetings and even interviews in remote places. Nowadays, coffee shops have become a regular and professional place to hold a meeting room interview. Why does this trend take place? Recruiters are now hosting interview sessions at a coffee shop instead of the office for several reasons.
For the recruiter, it’s a way to meet a potential employee on a more casual basis to determine if there could be a role for the person at the company. For the candidate, it’s a way to learn more about a company without having to participate in a formal interview, at least at the start. Companies are opting to have interviews also in cafes, as they seem to be an easy option to give an interview in a coffee shop, but that is also a tricky situation to be in.
The idea behind an informal type of interview is to increase the comfort level where the person can easily talk about themselves. However, one still needs to be cautious with these coffee shop interviews, as to what a person is wearing and how they are required to behave.

There are also other concerns for a recruiter:

Setting the Theme

What if a recruiter shows up to hold an interview and cannot guarantee a quiet table? And what if the interviewee does not show up on time? What are the other factors that will cause an inconvenience for the interviewee? Also, it is important to keep in mind that sitting in a casual place does not mean that the interviewee gets overly relaxed.

What Will You Order?

Preferably it is better to wait for the interviewer before ordering something, and in case the interviewer is getting late then it is fine to order a cup of coffee while waiting. It is good to avoid ordering something to eat as it will be highly distracting during the interview. In a meeting room or a co-working space, you don’t have to worry about this at all, because fluidmeet’s meeting spaces already include beverages and you can just focus on the interview.

The Noise Factor. Is it Distracting?

You can request the cafe manager to reduce the sound of music in the café, with the explanation of the interview (although this is not a practical option; café managers may not entertain this request as it would change the ambiance of their cafe). If it is crowded, then choose a seat where there is less sound and noise. This will allow for a better interview. But is this a practical solution? A lot of things going on inside a coffee shop, students might be talking, babies might be screeching, and people might be talking loud or laughing.

Be sure not to be distracted and try to pay attention to the interview and the questions. But there are plenty of meeting rooms in Dubai & Abu Dhabi, co-working spaces, and business centers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, provided by the fluidmeet platform, which will be the perfect solution for a life coach or a recruiter to hold an interview – and it is a lot more professional.

Coffee shop interviews seem exciting as compared to the formal meeting room interview, but one has to be extra cautious about everything. Despite being a fun way of interviewing, keep basic things in your mind to crack the interview, remember not to get too casual because you are in a cafe. With a bit of a sensible approach, you can surely crack the right code of success and secure the position or nail the contract!
It’s best not to take risks with noise, crowds, and other external factors, and hold your next interview in a meeting room or co-working space. Book your next interview via the fluidmeet platform and avoid inconvenience.
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Blog Prepared by fluidmeet Staff Writer
Author: Maha Ahmad
support@fluidmeet.com

About fluidmeet:

Established in 2015, fluidmeet is a leading online market place and an emerging booking and venue management platform that “connects” individuals and corporates seeking rental of serviced offices, co-working spaces, meeting rooms and banquet halls with venues and their hosts in a timely, cost-effective and efficient manner.